Rockstar Games Launcher Ends Support for Windows 7 and 8

Highlights

• Rockstar Games Launcher has ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 in its latest update.
• The change was originally announced in October 2023, with Rockstar citing Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 7 and 8 as the reason for its decision.
• The new Rockstar Games Launcher update also includes stability improvements and minor bug fixes for the app.

The latest update for Rockstar Games Launcher ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, while also rolling out a few other changes to the app. Although this turn of events shouldn’t come as a surprise to PC users, it still marks an end of an era for Rockstar Games Launcher, which has supported these versions of Microsoft’s ubiquitous operating system since its release.

Originally debuted in September 2019, Rockstar Games Launcher is the GTA maker’s storefront and—of course—launcher for PC games. It works in tandem with the Rockstar Games Social Club platform and offers access to 11 titles as of early 2024. Back when it was first released, Rockstar Games Launcher came with the offer of a free copy of GTA: San Andreas in a bid to drive user adoption.

And while both San Andreas and several other classic games available via the platform have originally been compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8, the app itself has now ceased support for those versions of Microsoft’s operating system. The change was introduced as part of the latest update for the app, identified by version number 1.0.84.1829.

Rockstar Games Launcher Supported Platforms as of Early 2024

Rockstar’s decision to sunset the Windows 7 and Windows 8 versions of its PC launcher should not come as a surprise to the company’s fans. Aside from the fact that even the newer of those two OSs is pushing 12 nowadays, the move itself has already been announced back in October 2023, after Microsoft itself stopped making security updates for those operating systems, giving fans ample time to prepare for the change. Microsoft, for its part, has long offered free Windows upgrades to users of some of its older OS versions, although that program is no longer available as of September 2023.

Aside from ending support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, the latest version of Rockstar Games Launcher also introduces some minor bug fixes. Furthermore, the official changelog attached to the patch mentions a number of stability improvements as being part of the package, although it does not elaborate on the matter. The update itself rolled out on January 30 and is required to keep using Rockstar Games Launcher, which is now only available on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Time will tell what’s next for Rockstar Games Launcher, which has been treated to a fairly uneventful stream of updates since its 2019 debut. However, some recently emerged evidence suggests that its future might be free of the Rockstar Games Social Club platform, which Rockstar could be looking to phase out ahead of the release of the GTA 6 PC port, which has yet to be officially confirmed but is presumed to be coming circa 2026.

Rockstar Games Launcher Update 1.0.84.1829 Patch Notes

• Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 has been removed from the Rockstar Games Launcher
• Improvements have been made to the stability of the Rockstar Games Launcher
• Minor bug fixes have been made to the Rockstar Games Launcher